


The Next Step

by PhoenixstarKina



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS
Genre: All three use He/Him, But Robopp's maidbot-senses are tingling so they comin' home, But Yusaku is D O N E(tm), F/F, F/M, Gen, Guy's connected to the network via Link Sense he's basically an Ignis, He has run out of fuck to give, M/M, Multi, Non-Binary Jin, Oh and the Lost Kids play Monster Hunter together, Other, Pregnancy, Ryoken is done(tm), So are Takeru and Jin, There's magic and Ignis were created as the next step in humanity OF COURSE THEY'RE COMPATIBLE, This is so not what Yusaku meant when he said Ai means 'to love people', Those tags are important K?, Unplanned Pregnancy, Yusaku and Ai did the do then Ai fricked off Season 3 Style, Yusaku has a frying pan and is not afraid to use it, intersex yusaku, mentions of vomiting (but nothing graphic), plus it's Yusaku so..., trans Takeru
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:21:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22077628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhoenixstarKina/pseuds/PhoenixstarKina
Summary: (Look it was either this fic gets posted or y'all get the dark angst take your pick)"Yes, he knows about the both of us. Kolter picks up all of our prescriptions at the same time, Takeru kind of knows I don’t take double doses of testosterone.”“Yeah and if your batshit crazy idea is right, neither of us are going to be taking it!” Takeru grumbled before sighing. “Sorry. I’m just…”“Terrified?” Jin guessed, looking at the test Yusaku was taking out of the box. “W-wait, you think Takeru is-““Not just me!” Takeru shook his head before hesitating. “And… And if there’s merit to this insanity… Well none of us really knew Lightning or what all he did to you…”“But that is highly doubtful.” Yusaku interrupted, seeing Jin starting to panic about it. “This is just because Takeru and I have been getting sick every day for a while."
Relationships: Ai | Ignis/Fujiki Yuusaku, Bessho Ema/Kusanagi Shouichi, Flame/Homura Takeru, Kusanagi Jin/Lightning
Comments: 16
Kudos: 45





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> You know what. It’s 2020. I’m writing what I want. And this won’t leave me be so it’s getting written.

Of all the times he could be getting sick, Yusaku figured this was the worst time. At least it had waited until after the truck was closed for the night. But sitting in his chair hugging a trash can like it was the only thing that ever mattered in his life, even with only Kolter and Takeru to be a witness to that, was not how Yusaku wanted to spend his evening.

He felt dizzy, sicker than he had before he threw up, and humiliated. He glared over at Takeru, who was making a point to look anywhere that wasn’t at Yusaku. It wasn’t Takeru’s fault of course, he had admitted to having a very sympathetic gag reflex, so it was no wonder he was avoiding looking at Yusaku. Yusaku just felt… off.

“Kiddo. No more hot dogs for a while, okay?” Yusaku grimaced when Kolter said that, trying to shy away from the cloth currently cleaning off his cheek. “Come on, you can hardly focus enough to stay upright. Let me take care of this so you can go lay down on the cot.”

“Think Yusaku’s caught the flu or something?” Takeru asked, turning his focus on the decks in his hands. “Should we really be hanging out here if he’s sick.”

“Considering tonight’s when I do a very deep clean of the truck from top to bottom, it won’t matter… but either way, I don’t think this is the flu.” Kolter hummed, taking the trash can from Yusaku and getting rid of it before helping Yusaku to the cot on the truck. “Stress, probably. Either way, the last thing your stomach needs is grease. Don’t give me that look.” He warned, seeing Yusaku ready to protest.

“You’ve been working non-stop since Zaizen said that Ai was going to try and kill him. Which I think is a bit of an exaggeration.” Kolter shook his head, getting a bottle of water for Yusaku while Takeru drank his own bottle of soda and watched them.

Yusaku looked away. That had been about a month ago, when Zaizen asked everyone to protect him from Ai and Roboppi. Frankly, Yusaku found it hard to believe. Killing people was Lightning’s thing. Ai was just grieving and being his dramatic self, now in a human form that could better let him display that grief and drama. Yusaku was ready to wait it out, wait Ai out, until he finally found some sense and came back home.

Especially after what happened once Yusaku got back to his apartment when the meeting was over. Seeing Ai in person, well, in his SOLtiS, was different from seeing him on the video Zaizen had. Yusaku had scolded him for that. But not for attacking Queen. He understood, it was her fault Earth was dead, after all.

Well, not _dead_ dead. But Ai was an idiot and Yusaku had a better understanding about the Ignis and Origin bonds than he did. And with the tentative truce between Playmaker and the Hanoi for the sake of the faction, Spectre agreed to a few scans. So did Miyu and Skye. Ryoken was easy to convince about it too, and Jin was happy to help. Of course, Ai had a one-track mind and distracted Yusaku before he could explain just _why_ Ai was an idiot.

Not that Yusaku was complaining about that. Though the soreness the day after was something he could do without. It was touching that Ai at least didn’t do a walk of shame without leaving Yusaku something important though. Like Roboppi’s calendar that tracked his hormone replacement therapy, and six months-worth of his medications. Well, five months.

Kolter had scolded him for three hours after finding the shattered glass bottle in front of the door where Yusaku had thrown it. But he stopped once Yusaku had explained what happened. In far less detail, of course. He wasn’t about to tell the man who was basically his father that he had lost his virginity to an Ignis who somehow modified a SOLtiS to allow for tentacles to still happen.

He told Takeru every dirty detail instead. It was the only way to get him to stop asking about Ai. And explaining it kept Takeru occupied so he didn’t notice Yusaku messing around with his head while they were in Vrains. But at least he had what he needed for Flame though.

Gathering up personality and data from everyone was the first step. Step two was even easier thanks to Skye. The Ignis data wasn’t _dead_ , it was just dismantled and spread out over the closed Vrains network. The very network that Skye could access thanks to Emma’s backdoor programs. Yusaku would have went himself, but Kolter put a stop to that. His girlfriend could go into the closed network, but he had decided that enough was enough and Yusaku was banned from going.

_“No. We relied on Yusaku to stop the Hanoi, we relied on him to stop Lightning. We aren’t going to rely on him to stop Ai. That would be like asking Skye to stop Akira or Ryoken to stop Yusaku.”_

_“I would have no problem taking Yusaku out if need be.”_

_“I second that but Kolter is right. How about we stop relying on Yusaku. I mean… it’s Ai. Pretty sure we could stop him by giving him spoilers about his shows he’s missing.”_

Even if he wanted to go into Vrains, Yusaku couldn’t. But Skye- Blue Maiden actually- made a good data magnet. They already had most of Flame’s data back, and over half of Earth’s. He was just waiting on Pandor to get the rest of Earth’s from SOL. Yusaku was hopeful he would have everyone completed within two months though.

And with the new data from everyone (suck it Kogami, turns out you didn’t need to electrocute children to get the best results) hopefully Windy and Lightning would be fine. Yusaku still wondered how such a quiet and happy boy like Jin could have Lightning as an Ignis counterpart. The only thing that ever got a somewhat strong response from Jin was if they were playing games together. And even then it wasn’t anything too bad.

“Yusaku? Come on bud, sit up.” Yusaku felt his stomach protest just that small movement, but thankfully it didn’t protest the cool water from the water bottle Kolter gave him. “Takeru? What day is it?”

“The fifteenth, why?” Takeru tilted his head before gasping. “Yusaku! Did you stop taking your treatments? Dude, the last time you missed more than a few days it really messed you up!”

“I’ve been taking them.” Yusaku nodded. “And you’ve been getting sick too, don’t act like you haven’t.”

Kolter frowned, looking over at Takeru. “You have?”

Takeru laughed sheepishly. “Only sometimes! I’m still taking all of my medication and treatments like normal though. Maybe it is just stress. I mean, we gotta stop Ai _and_ keep our cover at school.”

Yusaku nodded in agreement. It had to be stress. He had only been getting sick for a week now, and it tended to ease up after some time. Only heavy food smells would really set it off, but hot dogs were still agreeable with his stomach. He noticed Takeru looking pale every morning, however.

“Look, you two should really take it easy. Let’s go grab some medicine just in case, alright?” Kolter asked, heading to the front of the truck. “And get you both something to eat!”

* * *

Medicine and food were the farthest thing from Yusaku’s mind while they walked through the drug store. Not when something else caught his attention.

He stood in one of the aisles, looking at the small rectangular box. Takeru had been getting sick every _morning_ , and was fine by lunch time, eating even quicker than usual and sometimes even taking Skye up on her offer to get more food. Plus… there had been that meet-up with everyone that Takeru admitted to not remembering much of, after Ai crashed it and caused mass panic. Anything could have happened, not that he was accusing Takeru of sleeping with anyone, or any of their friends or allies to have done something to him.

But it was a possibility. One that he voiced to Takeru and Kolter when they found him staring at the pregnancy tests.

“If I’m taking one, you’re taking one.” Takeru countered. “I think I would’ve known had something happened that day. And _you_ can’t remember either.”

“Considering you have been the only one to _ever_ see me without pants on, and it was Ai who supposedly wiped our memories of that day, I highly doubt anything happened to me.” Yusaku pointed out.

“Ai’s seen you naked too.” Takeru retorted, sharing a look with Yusaku.

It was impossible… it had to be…

Yusaku never realized just how expensive pregnancy tests could be until he was buying four of them. Two for himself, two for Takeru. Luckily Kolter stopped them and paid for them himself. The ride to Kolter’s was silent, neither of them wanting to take the test alone. Yusaku spent the ride staring at the test in his hand.

He knew he _could_ , of course. He had been curious and every medical expense he ever had was covered by SOL Tech after all. And while a sexual partner wasn’t something Yusaku saw himself getting at any point, he knew things could happen. But to even entertain the idea that _Ai_ could have… that an AI _computer program_ could…

He didn’t finish the thought, being dragged out of the truck by Takeru and led upstairs, following Kolter. Jin greeted them happily, pausing when he saw the worried looks on everyone’s faces. “What happened?” Jin asked.

“You’re coming with us.” Takeru grabbed Jin’s hand, dragging him to the bathroom with himself and Yusaku. “We need emotional support.”

“That requires all of us in the bathroom?!” Jin yelped, blushing brightly.

Takeru looked at him. “Surprise, we all got the same parts. Mostly.” He threw his hands up in mock celebration. “I know you know about Yusaku, but I’m just as queer as the two of you.”

“Takeru’s transgender.” Yusaku explained when Jin just looked even more confused. “And yes, he knows about the both of us. Kolter picks up all of our prescriptions at the same time, Takeru kind of knows I don’t take double doses of testosterone.”

“Yeah and if your batshit crazy idea is right, neither of us are going to be taking it!” Takeru grumbled before sighing. “Sorry. I’m just…”

“Terrified?” Jin guessed, looking at the test Yusaku was taking out of the box. “W-wait, you think Takeru is-“

“Not just me!” Takeru shook his head before hesitating. “And… And if there’s merit to this insanity… Well none of us really _knew_ Lightning or what all he did to you…”

“But that is highly doubtful.” Yusaku interrupted, seeing Jin starting to panic about it. “This is just because Takeru and I have been getting sick every day for a while. You haven’t been, right?”

Jin shook his head quickly, as Yusaku suspected he would. If Jin had been getting sick, Kolter would have said something to them, and he wouldn’t have left Jin alone for even a second. The two of them waited for Takeru to take the test, Yusaku taking one after him. Then, it was a matter of waiting.

“H-how did you even get to t-this?” Jin asked.

“I saw the tests when we were getting medicine to help us from getting sick.” Yusaku explained. “And remembered the meeting that Ai crashed, that no one had any memory of. While I do trust Takeru- who said nothing happened- and our allies- who know what boundaries are… there was still just a feeling…”

“Could it be Link Sense?” Jin asked softly, knowing about their ties to the network.

“Maybe.” Yusaku sighed.

Takeru shook his head. “The more I think about it… the more of a good idea this is, yeah?” He tried to give them both a weak smile. “I mean, if it’s positive, it may be a false one. We’ll have to go to a doctor anyway but that would be a good way to start that conversation other than ‘hey doc, I’m here because stress keeps making me sick!’ they’d probably send us to our therapists if we just said that.” He said with a nervous laugh.

“H-How long has it been?” Takeru tried to look at the tests, being stopped by Yusaku with a hand on his shoulder.

“Three minutes. We have two more.” If they even made it that long. Nervousness was making Yusaku feel sick again, he was sure Takeru felt the same way. “…If it is positive…”

“What do we do then?” Takeru whispered. “What… what do we tell the others?”

Yusaku didn’t have an answer for that. It wasn’t like they _had_ to tell the others, it was their business. Except… “…We can’t go to a doctor about this… _fuck_.” He hissed out. “Takeru, I’ve only been with _Ai._ And I’m guessing you with Flame? If these are positive?”

Realization dawned on Takeru, turning to a look of horror that Yusaku and Jin both mirrored. All three moved quickly when the timer on Yusaku’s duel disk went off, scrambling to grab the two tests.

“… _Dad_!” “ _Cal_!” Three voices shouted, none jumping when the door opened quickly. Kolter took a step back when two tests were thrusted into his hands.

He looked down at the two that very clearly said ‘Pregnant’. “…Fucking hell…” He breathed out. “…Please tell me it was Ryoken? That Shima kid from school? Gore? I’ll take Akira or Spectre or even Kengo at this point without any lecture, I promise.” He begged. “Don’t tell me-“

“Ai was the only one I was ever with.” Yusaku murmured, still looking shocked.

“…Flame’s the only one with anything resembling a dick I’ve been with.” Takeru whispered, staring down at the floor with wide eyes.

“I said don’t tell me…” Kolter groaned, handing the tests back. “…A doctor is out of the question, you know.”

Yusaku paled. That wasn’t exactly true. They did know a _few_ doctors who knew of the Ignis, but the thought of going to them made him feel even more sick. He didn’t know what to think.

Thankfully, he didn’t have to voice any of his thoughts as Kolter began speaking again. “Alright. Okay. Look, any _other_ doctor is out of the question. _But_ I know for a fact that Clarissa Turner actually is a medical doctor. And these tests can lie. I mean, Emma’s lied twice!”

“So you two _are_ banging! I knew it!” Takeru blurted out, looking for anything else to focus on.

“…They’re probably the last people we should be telling…” Kolter continued. “But we may be able to do this without alerting Revolver?”

Yusaku looked at Kolter, knowing that he didn’t believe his own words even for a second. They weren’t going to be able to get away with not telling the leader of the Hanoi. But he had bigger worries than Ryoken finding out. He didn’t care, truthfully, if he knew. As much as Ryoken hated the Ignis, he wouldn’t force Yusaku or Takeru to do anything against their will.

But they were restoring the Ignis. And once restoration was done, he was getting Ai back one way or another. Either Ai came back home, or he sent Flame and possibly Aqua and Earth to drag him back. And there was Yusaku’s biggest worry.

If they were positive… what would they tell the Ignis? Especially Flame and Ai.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They get confirmation about what they already knew, and Yusaku is contemplating if he really wants to save Ai or not.

Yusaku half expected Ryoken to shut the door in their faces when they showed up at the docks a few hours later.

“You need Clarissa and access to the medical room… why?” Ryoken raised an eyebrow, looking between the four of them. “Has the Dark Ignis done something?”

“…Yeah you could say that.” Kolter mumbled. “Look it might just be nothing. Maybe we’re all crazy? But I would really like a doctor to check and see if we are and given the nature of the situation, Doctor Tuner is the only one who not only knows about Takeru, Jin, and Yusaku, but about the Ignis too. As much as I hate to bring them to anyone who’s part of the Hanoi…”

That seemed to make Ryoken even more confused, though his eyes held some realization. “Did the Ignis tamper with medication for them?”

“No.” Kolter shook his head. “Even with Ai acting weird, he would never do that. He’d never stoop that low, especially against Yusaku.”

“Very well.” Ryoken sighed, motioning them to follow him and sending a message to Clarissa.

Yusaku stuck close to Kolter as they walked, holding Jin and Takeru’s hands tightly with both of them on either side of him. It wasn’t going to be like those check-ups during the Lost Incident. They were together, Kolter wasn’t leaving them even for a second. Jin was trembling next to him, Yusaku was sure it was even more terrifying for him. They told him what they could about the Incident, but his memories were still gone.

Locked inside Lightning, probably. If Yusaku had to guess.

Clarissa looked confused when Ryoken led the group into the medical room. It was small, but Yusaku recognized some of the machines around them from when he was younger. Basic medical things, probably more hi-tech ones as well. It wouldn’t surprise him if Ryoken managed to hide an entire hospital in one room.

Pandor was there as well. “Hello Playmaker, Soulburner, Unnamed.” She greeted them. “And…”

“Lightshadow.” Jin said, catching even Kolter by surprise. “What? Everyone else has cool avatar names…”

“Pleasantries aside… what brings you four here?” Clarissa asked confusedly. “Ryoken said you couldn’t go to a hospital about this, is it something related to the Incident?”

“In a way.” Kolter sighed, seeing that Ryoken wasn’t leaving any time soon. “Look, Yusaku and Takeru have been getting sick for a while now. Both of them. At first we thought it was stress, since Takeru was still getting over losing Flame, and Ai isn’t making things easy on anyone. And both have been on normal schedules for everything. But Yusaku noticed a pattern and brought it up while we were getting medicine.”

“Takeru only ever got sick in the morning.” Yusaku murmured. “And I did too, unless I was around heavy food scents.”

Clarissa’s eyes widened as she pulled a cart over, her laptop sitting on top of it. “And you two are… right. Some doctors are still a bit backwards. But you two think this may be the cause of pregnancy?”

“We took tests.” Takeru shrugged, squeezing Yusaku’s hand tightly. “They were positive.”

“And you want confirmation. But… Planned Parenthood does those for free and ask far fewer questions.” Clarissa’s eyes drifted over to Ryoken before looking back at Yusaku. “Is… are the fathers someone we know?”

“You could say that.” Takeru muttered.

“…Ai is the only one I’ve ever had sex with.” Yusaku finally admitted.

“That’s impossible.” Ryoken replied immediately. “What type of joke are you pulling here? Did Homura start this? We don’t have time for games like this, Playmaker.”

“It’s not a game!” Yusaku snapped back. “I think I would know the list of people I’ve slept with Revolver, considering Ai is the _only one_ on that list!”

He turned defensively, glaring at Ryoken. Yusaku knew something would happen when he found out. Kolter moved to stand between them, staying close his three children and looking at Ryoken.

“It may be a false positive.” He said, tone staying level even though Yusaku could hear the danger laying under it. If Ryoken tried anything, he knew Kolter would retaliate. And even though he left an athletic career behind, that didn’t mean Kolter wasn’t strong enough to fight him off. “That’s why we’re here. Doctor Turner is the only one we could come to about this, in case it is actually true.”

Yusaku refused to flinch when Pandor moved closer to them. She seemed curious, tilting her head in a way he remembered Roboppi doing so many times when he would teach them something new. It reminded him that she was still a young AI, no matter what age Ryoken had programmed her to be.

She was harmless, for the moment. Unlike her creator.

Clarissa agreed quickly to helping them, ushering the three to sit down on the table in the room. “I’ll check Jin as well. I know you just said Takeru and Yusaku, but if they are, then this may be something that is only possible through a bond between an Ignis and their Origin. There may be a change in the Origins genetically.” She made sure to explain everything to Kolter, every move done where he could see it.

“I don’t truly see how this could be possible though. I mean… Ignis don’t have sperm. Or DNA.”

“Genetic coding.” Yusaku murmured. “It isn’t like the Ignis are all exact copies of each other. They have their own unique codes. And…” He looked away, blushing lightly.

“They have _something_.” Takeru was blushing as well. “Sticky, sorta salty… warm.”

Clarissa blinked, almost dropping the needle she was using to draw blood from Yusaku. “I don’t know if they developed that on their own or if it was Genome’s doing… Honestly, I don’t know which answer would be worse.” She shook her head, drawing blood from all three boys.

“Ryoken? I think it’s best the others are _not_ told of this yet.” She added.

Ryoken nodded in agreement. “On the off chance that they are correct, no one will be told until they leave.” The reason why was left unspoken, but heavy in everyone’s minds. _The Lost Incident._

Yusaku sat back on the table. If they were right, it would be just one more thing caused by the Incident. Having Clarissa know was already almost too much for him. Jin was trembling on his right, and Takeru sat on Jin’s other side, watching the woman warily. But she worked in silence.

“Well.” After a half hour of work, Clarissa sighed, looking up from her laptop on the cart. “Let’s start with Jin Kolter. I believe I see the common factor here, a peculiar… code, mixed into his DNA.”

“ _Computer_ code?” Kolter asked.

Clarissa nodded slightly. “Well, to be more precise, it’s an Ignis Algorithm. Yusaku was correct, it’s genetic coding. And it has fused with Jin’s DNA. However it’s different from Yusaku and Takeru’s, like it’s missing a key component. I believe it would be that component that allows for a pregnancy to occur between an Origin and Ignis. And from the looks of it, the code may not care if the Origin has a functioning uterus or not. It’s and adapting code.”

“I think if someone- well there’s only one person now really- but if this were to happen to Spectre, he would simply carry data, the child would be more Ignis than human, and-“

“Clarissa?” Ryoken interrupted. “We’re here about the pregnancies that may actually be real?”

“Oh! Yes, right. I’ll have all of what I found written down later.” Clarissa added. “But as for Takeru and Yusaku, yes. There are increased hormone levels, and the blood test does confirm, you both are expecting.”

“Which, given the situation that happened between Yusaku and Ryoken dueling, and the Ignis war starting… honestly is not all that surprising.” She added. “I mean, _someone_ was creating new Cyberse cards, even with no Ignis around. If that’s possible… then this isn’t far of a reach.”

Yusaku looked away from everyone, letting the shock settle in about the confirmation. One hand moved to rest on his stomach, ignoring the comforting hand put on his shoulder by someone. He finally looked up, catching the last of whatever Clarissa had been explaining.

“-the Dark Ignis is still a major threat. He’s going to attack Zaizen tomorrow, and as of now, we’re down two of our strongest duelists.” She said to Ryoken and Kolter. “Really, being down our two Cyberse duelists is going to make the fight a bit harder. We had plans for Yusaku sitting this out. But many of them still counted on Soulburner being ready to fight…”

“Hey! I can still duel!” Takeru protested. “And we aren’t gonna _kill_ Ai, I’m just gonna kick his SOLtiS ass and drag him back here to remind him he still has family! Especially since we’re getting Flame and the others back. And… and he’s gonna be a dad and an uncle too!”

“I-I can duel too.” Jin said hesitantly. “I might not be as strong as Takeru and Yusaku, but I have Lightning’s deck. That may be enough to catch Ai off guard. And he doesn’t know I’m in Vrains as Lightshadow still. I changed up my avatar from what Lightning had it as.”

Yusaku looked mildly annoyed at everyone. They were talking as if he wasn’t even there. Not that he was going to join in the fighting anyway. He had his own plan if Ai didn’t come around to his senses. A risky one, but if he was right on Ai’s line of thinking, it would’ve worked. He would wait until Ai showed up and got into a duel with one of the others. Revolver would be preferable, but his plan could still work if it was Soulburner or Ghost Girl, or even Blood Shepherd.

Then, he would interrupt the duel. Not by joining in, the penalty shock that happened was not what Yusaku needed. But there was no shock if he manage to take Ai off of his duel board. Tackling him would work. Then whoever he was dueling would probably start yelling at Yusaku for doing something stupid. Ai would be shocked about Yusaku’s actions, then start freaking out about falling. Three different things could happen then.

One, Ai saves them from falling himself. Either by forcing Yusaku to log out, which would trigger the trap in his duel disk and lead to Ai being trapped in it with a _new_ Ignis algorithm that Yusaku created. Or by calling the Linguriboh, which Yusaku would then release his Linkuriboh to take over it.

Two, Roboppi. Yusaku knew they still had their own opinions and programming, and he knew Roboppi was malfunctioning. He could get two birds with one stone then, getting Ai and Roboppi both back and getting the new coding he came up with into Roboppi to stabilize them. He knew Roboppi wouldn’t just allow them to fall to their doom.

Three, someone else grabs them. He was hoping for Revolver, to show that yes, Yusaku is serious about Ai and will do whatever it takes to get him back. And because Revolver wasn’t one to just let Ai go if he ever got a hold of him.

However, with new revelations, he knew that plan was impossible. “I’m still going into Link Vrians.” Yusaku decided.

“Like hell you are.” Ryoken growled. And Yusaku was surprised at the glare he received.

There was hurt in Ryoken’s eyes. Yusaku knew what that was about.

 _I’m serious about Ai. And now… I’m carrying his child._ Yusaku thought. It was the final nail in the coffin, that he wasn’t Ryoken’s. Even if they both wanted it at one time, Yusaku made his choice. And he knew Ryoken had other choices as well.

“If I _ever_ duel that blasted Ignis again, I will see to it that he dies from _my own hands_ and not my deck!”

Spectre storming into the room shocked everyone, stopping Ryoken’s glaring as he looked over to his second-in-command. “Spectre.” He said coolly. “What are you going on about now?”

“The Dark Ignis.” Spectre muttered, not flinching when Clarissa came over to inspect his arm which stayed limply at his side. “I may have popped it out of place when I logged out. Because that _thing_ and its _stupid annoying Ignis-based cards!_ ”

Takeru raised an eyebrow. “Ai’s cards?”

“Yes.” Spectre hissed as Clarissa moved his arm. “That stuck-up, conceited, self-centered-“

“Get to the point.” Kolter sighed, moving to stand between the three on the table and Spectre.

“He has an _entire archetype_ of cards based on _himself_! And the one he used against Faust and myself? _Ai love Yousion_.”

Everyone stared at Spectre, stunned into complete silence. Ai having an archetype based on himself, was rather predictable to them. Even making a card into a _horrible pun_ was expected. But the pun itself…

“Ai… love _Yousion_?” Kolter repeated. “That just sounds like language butchering.”

“Yousion… _Yu_ sion.” Takeru groaned, slapping his forehead and keeping his hand there. “Nevermind. I’m on Team Kill The Ignis now. That is _worse_.”

Spectre shook his head. “No, what is worse is that the blasted card is colored with _his_ hair color!” He said, using his other arm to point to Yusaku.

No one said anything, until Jin began to laugh. Even Kolter was having trouble hiding a smile and Takeru was staring at Yusaku, mouth wide open.

“…I’m going to delete him when we finally get him back.” Yusaku muttered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me start off by saying this past week has been hell. My mom's cat had a stroke, and he didn't make it. And then my great aunt died a few days ago. So.... updates to EVERYTHING are slow.
> 
> But I bust out laughing when I saw Ai had a card called "Ai Love Yousion". 1. It's a play on I love you, which Ai does ANOTHER play on with Ai love Yu. 2. Fusion in Japanse is Yuugou. The word Yousion is LITERALLY a fusion of Yuugou and Fusion. 3. HE. USED. YUSAKU'S. HAIR. COLOR. FOR. THE. CARD. This damn show isn't even trying to hide the gay anymore.
> 
> Dunno if I said this or not, but this isn't a serious serious fic. It's supposed to have humor in it and everything else.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roboppi is easy to convince. Ai? Not so much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2 things  
> 1\. While in Vrains, we use avatar names. Except for Zaizen cause he's boring and doesn't have one.  
> 2\. I started this when the dub decided "hey Shima knows Yusaku's secret!" and before the whole "no he doesn't he thinks Yusaku's going to a costume party" thing.  
> Seriously? Yusaku at a costume party? Shima you call yourself his friend...

Yusaku wasn’t sure what to make of everything when the rest of the faction was told.

They had to be told, after both he and Takeru had gotten sick during the next meeting. Meeting outside of Vrains had to be arranged, with the light ban that the two of them were on. Not that Yusaku planned on listening to the ban against going into Vrains. He wouldn’t duel, but it was the only way he could possibly find Ai.

The meeting was just going to be Ryoken telling the others that Yusaku and Takeru couldn’t fight, but Jin was going to duel for them instead. Until they had gotten sick. Which led to questions and Akira threatening to call a doctor, and Ryoken reminding him that they have a doctor, and finally Takeru blurting out the secret.

“We aren’t sick, we’re pregnant!”

_That_ had been a fun conversation with everyone who wasn’t in on the first secret about them. At least Zaizen had sense enough to not ask questions that were too personal. But the bombshell had shaken everyone.

“So the fathers… are Ai and Flame?” Skye asked once they were done explaining. “Could it be possible then that-“

“All of the Ignis are capable of something like this? Yes.” Ryoken sighed. “Which means Spectre and Miyu, and possibly you Miss Zaizen, need to have blood work done by Clarissa. Jin Kolter already had his done.”

“And _no_. Before anyone starts asking. I am _not_ getting rid of my baby.” Takeru said. “I don’t care if I’m sixteen, I don’t care if the baby is part Ignis. This baby is mine and Flame’s and I’m keeping them.”

Yusaku put a hand on his stomach. Doctor Turner had told them every option they both had, even termination. Takeru had outright refused to even listen to that part, covering his ears during it. The thought of getting rid of… made him sick.

Even if he couldn’t even bring himself to admit to himself what was going on. It was too much, and it made him sick again, bad enough to warrant the doctor putting him on an IV for fluids, getting him out of the main meeting room. He was off in a small side room in Ryoken’s large house, curled up on a comfortable couch, leaning on Emma while Kolter sat on his other side, Kolter’s coat draped over him like a blanket.

It was too much, he knew that. Too many people in too small of a room out there. He had gotten overwhelmed again. And being… his situation didn’t help.

Hell, he wasn’t ready to be a parent. Yusaku had plans to _never_ be a parent. He was damaged, the Lost Incident _broke_ him. He couldn’t connect to other humans right, how the hell was he supposed to raise a child? But then, he also didn’t want to get rid of… of _his_ child.

It wouldn’t be fair to Ai.

“Yusaku? Can you tell me three things? Three things you may be looking forward to? Don’t think about them.” Asked the soft, kind voice of Emma. She had been there more, splitting her time between training Skye in her line of work, her relationship with Kolter, and getting to know him and Jin more, outside of Yusaku being Playmaker.

She was making an effort to get to know them, it was how Yusaku knew she was serious with Kolter. The last time he tried dating, the woman treated him _and_ Jin like burdens. That woman had been a hacker too. _Had been_ being the keywords. The second she said something against Jin, Yusaku make sure her career, and the relationship, were both over. She was completely wrong for Kolter anyway. Emma had been happy to meet Jin, explaining how she and Kolter had met, joking about hot dogs being sandwiches again, and including Jin in an outing she had planned.

“One, being done with school.” Yusaku murmured. School was a pain to deal with, especially with Shima knowing who they all were. He wouldn’t leave them alone even when all Yusaku, Skye, and Takeru wanted was to grieve in peace. Yusaku was so close to snapping, not caring if everyone found out he was Playmaker.

“Can’t blame ya there kiddo.” Kolter smiled. “But… you still gotta go, for a few months. Keep up appearances.”

Yusaku grimaced. “Two, getting Ai and Roboppi back.” They were his family, even closer than Kolter. Roboppi had been there for him for years. And Ai was his Ignis. More than that, his lover. And now…

“Three…” His hand came to rest on his stomach. He could _feel_ the difference. And probably see it if he wore anything that actually fit. “…I want to meet them.”

Emma smiled softly. “And you will. Any decision you make, I support fully. You want this baby? Then we’re going to help you. And we’re going to help you get Ai back as well.” She said to him. “Skye thinks she has almost all of Flame’s data, and Akira’s working on getting us Earth’s. I think if we can get Flame online enough to speak, that could help convince Ai to stop what all he’s doing long enough for you to talk to him.”

Yusaku nodded. That sounded like a better plan, even though he would have liked to have all of the Ignis back and ready, it just wasn’t possible. Aqua was missing some key data, Windy’s was still corrupted, and Yusaku didn’t want to bring Lightning online until they had at least Flame back and preferably Earth as well. Having two Ignis ready to restrain Lightning if needed long enough to lock him to Jin’s duel disk, that was a plan that was still in place.

He laid his head on Emma’s arm, closing his eyes. “I have a headache.” He admitted tiredly.

“Just rest for now.” Kolter told him. “But we do need to go to the school in a few hours. Don’t give me that look. You, Takeru, and Skye are going to be missing the rest of the week. You know that means we gotta go grab your homework and set up a time for you to make up any tests you miss.” The school was lenient with Yusaku and Takeru’s schedules, being informed that they had been part of the Lost Incident and sometimes needed more than a few days at a time off.

“Fine.” Yusaku sighed. He knew there was no way he was getting out of that.

* * *

“We aren’t sure when Ai is going to attack.” Emma smiled. “I’m just laying out some sensors that will alert us when he’s about 15 minutes from our meeting point in Vrains. And you will be happy to know that I convinced Cal and Ryoken to let you come to the meeting point so you can talk to Ai. _Only if_ you stay put though, and only for three hours max. All of the sensors are going to contain a message for Ai as well. Not telling him what’s going on, but saying we have something important to share with him.”

“Vague enough to catch his nosey attitude.” Kolter smirked. “We included your name as well, to make sure it gets his attention.”

“It either gets his attention or makes him think I’m being held hostage.” Yusaku sighed. “Either way, hopefully he’s in a talking mood.” He sat down, running a hand through his hair.

The talk at the school had gone over well, getting the rest of the week off was easy since the three of them honestly didn’t look good. Skye didn’t have the same reasons for getting out as Yusaku and Takeru, but the two were able to sell it enough that having their best friend with them helped them out a lot. Luckily, their councilor was a sucker for sob stories.

Then, it was just a waiting game. Zaizen was already in Vrains, Blue Angel and Blood Shepherd with him. Gore was waiting for the signal to log in as well, with the Knights of Hanoi ready to go as well.

Yusaku sat between Jin and Takeru, forgoing the VR rooms in favor of the more comfortable couch. He held a glass of ginger tea, clung to it, really. Emma had given him and Takeru each a glass to try, and much to his relief, it helped the morning sickness ease up.

Even if it wanted to come back when he noticed Takeru dipping pickles into his glass

“Remember. I’ll be out here monitoring you two.” Emma said, looking at Yusaku and Takeru. “The second either of you show the slightest sign of physical distress, I’m logging you out.”

“Got it mom.” Takeru grinned cheekily, setting down his glass. “Let’s get going then!”

The four of them; Yusaku, Takeru, Jin, and Kolter all logged in to Vrains. Playmaker landed in the room first, looking around.

Immediately, he felt a difference that almost had him stumbling. He could feel a twinge from his Link Sense, eyes widening. The look was mirrored by Soulburner the second he appeared next to Playmaker. Lightshadow and Unnamed were at their sides in an instant. “Are you alright?” Unnamed asked.

“I…I can _feel_ them…” Soulburner whispered, putting a hand on his stomach as he looked at it. “Woah… I wasn’t expecting _that_.”

Playmaker nodded in agreement. It was alarming at first, but the more he thought it over, the more reassuring it was. It made everything more _real_. There was new code hidden away inside of him, the same way there was new life hidden outside of the network in the other world. He could feel it, sense the coding growing slowly.

“…If we can feel it, can Ai?” He asked out loud, catching everyone’s attention.

“I don’t know kiddo.” Unnamed admitted. “But we’re gonna find out, I guess. Emma? How are they out there?”

_“Just fine.”_ Came the reply to the four of them. _“Vitals are all good, except for a little jump. But I heard what you said, so it’s to be expected. And… Ai just tripped the farthest sensors. You have fifteen minutes.”_

“Fifteen minutes until Ai shows up.” Unnamed reported as Revolver appeared with the rest of his Knights. “Alright, here’s what’s gonna happen. Zaizen, Blue Angel, Playmaker, and Soulburner are gonna stay in here. The rest of us are gonna go out and confront him…and let Roboppi get by us.”

“What?” Zaizen’s eyes widened. “Why are you purposefully letting that AI past you?”

Unnamed smirked. “Because of Playmaker. Roboppi is insanely loyal, they went with Ai because he needed someone. But even with the advanced programming Ai gave them, when they find out what’s going on, there’s no doubt they’ll stay put. And that’ll increase our chances of getting Ai to stay around to listen to reason.”

“On top of the messages Emma left with each sensor.” He added. “They were vague enough that, hopefully, his interest has been caught. We mentioned that Playmaker may be feeling a bit under the weather as well.”

Unnamed continued to explain what they were hoping to have happen as Playmaker slowly tuned everyone out, focusing on his Sense. He could feel Ai and Roboppi nearby, and got a wave of cautious curiosity in return, from Ai’s part of their link.

Another idea forming, Playmaker reached out along that link, before snapping it shut completely. And the effect was immediate. Outside of their hideout, he heard the Linguriboh protest loudly. “Go!” Playmaker said, snapping everyone out of the shock that came from hearing it. “Keep Ai distracted for a bit. We can keep Zaizen safe here. Just let Roboppi through. Ai took the bait.”

“Got it.” Unnamed nodded. “I’m coming out as well to help.”

“Can you duel?” Gore asked him.

“Well… I did almost beat Playmaker.” Unnamed grimaced at the thought.

Playmaker looked away as well. It wasn’t something they talked about, past Yusaku screaming at Kolter about it once everyone was returned. He had broken down, crying and screaming at Kolter as Takeru, Aso, and Genome had tried to look anywhere in the truck but at the two of them. He _hated_ having to fight his friend, someone who had easily become a father to him.

“Let’s get going.” Revolver said, walking towards the exit. “We have an Ignis to beat.”

Everyone else left, leaving only a large screen to show those left what was happening. Playmaker watched the large Linguriboh grow closer, not surprised when Linkuriboh appeared in front of him in response. The Kuriboh looked at the screen, looking angry and chirping loudly. Playmaker grabbed it, hugging it closer.

And when the Linguriboh opened, the fun began. Playmaker could see how angry Ai was. “He thinks I’m being used as a hostage.” Playmaker murmured.

“Think Unnamed can get through to him?” Soulburner asked.

“I don’t know.” Playmaker admitted softly. “But he’s going for Roboppi first.”

A few other monitors popped up, showing everyone splitting into teams to take on clones Ai brought with him. But Unnamed and Lightshadow stayed facing Roboppi. “You’re holding Playmaker hostage! What do you think that’s gonna do?”

“We aren’t holding him hostage, Roboppi.” Lightshadow shook his head. “He’s fine, but we really _need_ to talk to you and Ai. He needs to talk to you.”

“Liars! He’s a hostage isn’t he?!” Roboppi demanded.

“…If you want to know the truth, then catch me!” Lightshadow goaded, turning his duel board and racing back. Roboppi followed after him quickly, with Unnamed following them both.

Playmaker frowned. Roboppi wasn’t usually that quick to rise to an angry response. He knew it wasn’t a good sign, their upgrades were too much and were deteriorating their system. Hopefully, he could fix it once Roboppi was nearby. He had the program up and ready, all he needed was Roboppi to be close enough to accept it.

“They’re heading around the other way.” Soulburner said, watching the screens. “Faust is getting his ass kicked though. Am I a bad person for enjoying that?”

“No.” Blue Angel shook her head.

“…Can I ask why you decided to go with Blue Angel again?”

“Because I’m here to be friendly, not to kick Ai apart into just zeros and hide his ones at the bottom of the sewer system.”

Soulburner nodded slowly. “That’s… terrifying.” He finally decided on. “Roboppi incoming!”

Playmaker barely had time to turn around, Linkuriboh still in his arms, before Roboppi was clinging to him. “Master! We gotta get you out of here! No way can they hold you hostage like this!”

“Roboppi-“ He tried to stop them as Roboppi continued to ramble on. “I’m not- that’s not what’s going- Roboppi!” Playmaker put one hand on top of Roboppi’s head.

Their hair felt so real, as real as his own. And he gave a light push against the coding hidden in the glove of his outfit, watching Roboppi’s eyes widen. “M-Master? What…” He watched their eyes widen in realization.

“You were malfunctioning before.” Playmaker murmured softly, letting go of Linkuriboh, who floated next to them. “That’s part of the reason why I wanted to see you and Ai again. I made a code to stabilize you. Ai pushed too much on you without giving you time to adapt.”

Roboppi bit their lip. “But… I need to help big bro! We gotta get that key card from him!” They pointed to Zaizen. “Please! We need it! We can’t stay here! I don’t have time to get used to more code!”

“Roboppi, you need to come home.” Playmaker whispered, crouching down to hug Roboppi tightly. “I need you… because you and Ai aren’t alone. He isn’t the last Ignis left.” He said quickly, knowing they were running out of time before Ai would realize what was going on.

And they needed Roboppi on their side again before that happened. “We found them. All of their data, well most of it. I’ve been putting them back together, Flame is almost back.” He explained. “But… more than that… scan me, Roboppi. I know you can.”

Roboppi blinked, eyes glowing slightly as they scanned Playmaker, listening to him closely. “I don’t get it, there’s code growing in your avatar, master?”

Playmaker nodded. “There is. And not just in Link Vrains.” He said to Roboppi. “Roboppi…I’m pregnant. Don’t look at me like that.” He deadpanned when Roboppi began to glare at him. “There’s only one being I’ve ever been with. If you want to glare at anyone, glare at Ai. He’s the one who did it.”

Their eyes widened again as they looked at Playmaker. “Big bro is gonna be a dad? Y-You’re really…?” They squeaked as Playmaker nodded. “Then why are you here?! Vrains is dangerous when pregnant! Master you need to take care of yourself! Oh and big bro can’t- Oh he has to stop!” They shrieked lightly.

“We were sorta hoping you’d help, Roboppi.” Soulburner smiled at them. “Playmaker isn’t the only one expecting.”

Roboppi gasped. “ _Two_ babies?! Two baby Ignis! And you’re getting the others back too? Then the simulations were all wrong!” They said, looking wide-eyed at the monitors that were showing Ai- the real one- now chasing after Unnamed while Faust and Spectre were stuck dueling against two fakes. “But we still need that key card!”

“If we can get it peacefully, will you and Ai come home?” Playmaker asked. “I need you both… I need my family, Roboppi.”

Roboppi nodded quickly, Linkuriboh copying the movement. “Yes! I missed you, master. I wanna come home. But we _need_ that key card, okay?” They said, glaring at Zaizen.

“You aren’t going to kill anyone, correct?” Playmaker looked at Roboppi. “No killing anyone.”

“Fine fine, no killing anyone! Gimme the card key now!” Roboppi whined, and Playmaker couldn’t help but smile softly. Even with the advanced programming, Roboppi was still so young. Part of him realized having Roboppi around would be good practice for the baby, depending on a few factors.

“Zaizen? The key card?” Playmaker asked, looking over at him.

Zaizen sighed. “ _Why_ does he require them? Just to take over SOLtech?” He asked Roboppi.

Roboppi hesitated in answering, looking up at Playmaker when his hand returned to their head. “Big bro was gonna take over SOLtech and do three things. One, he was gonna erase all the data on the Lost Incident, to fully protect everyone. But he was gonna send some files to Revolver, cause he knows SOLtech has… they know who Spectre’s human mom is.”

Playmaker blinked in surprise. Spectre had only mentioned the woman in passing, and didn’t seem to care about her at all. Not that he blamed him, who in their right mind would leave a baby in a _tree_?

“Two, he was going to create a SOLtiS army. And make sure Yusaku stopped him, cause big bro’s sad and grieving and doesn’t want the bad future to happen. But it won’t now! Cause everyone’s coming back and Yusaku’s gonna be a mommy!”

That made him grimace. Being a _mother_ was never in his plans, not that much _had_ been in his long-term plans to begin with.

“Three, he was gonna take all of Queen’s money and make sure Yusaku, Takeru, Kolter, Jin, Miyu, and Windy’s Origin’s parents got it! Because Spectre has lots of money, and Skye has you! But he wanted Yusaku to be comfortable and get out of that terrible apartment cause now we aren’t there to help him.”

Zaizen hummed. “And after all of that was done?”

Roboppi blinked. “Oh, he was gonna give you back the key cards! But he wasn’t gonna bring Queen back. She’s so mean. So he was gonna force them to let you take over! Because you aren’t mean, you’re just dumb.” They grinned.

Soulburner snorted as Zaizen looked offended at Roboppi’s words. “See, this is why I said Roboppi is my best friend.” Soulburner grinned. “So you’re gonna come back and help us, right?”

“Right!” Roboppi nodded happily, clinging to Playmaker. “But key card?”

“…I will give it to Playmaker.” Zaizen finally relented with a sigh.

The key wasn’t what Playmaker thought it would be. Honestly, he expected it to look like an actual key. But before he could take it, an explosion rocked the safe room, sending Soulburner falling backwards with a huff.

Playmaker was saved from the same fate by Roboppi grabbing him around the waist. And as the smoke cleared, he saw what had caused it.

“Hand Yusaku over. _Now_.”

Ai had reached them, getting past Unnamed, who followed him in soon after.

And he didn’t seem to be in a listening mood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Real life and mental health suck.
> 
> But hey! I'm getting things updated finally!  
> This was gonna include Yusaku dressed up in pastel goth attire, but I wanted to get it out and so that's in the next chapter! Cause he's totally a pastel goth type


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ai discovers the secret. Ai discovers where Yusaku's current location is.
> 
> Ai is an idiot, and Yusaku hates GPS tracking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know where this is going expect shenanigans though as the other Ignis begin to appear! It's just Ai (and technically Roboppi) for now, but just wait.

“Hand him over.”

Ai was glaring at Zaizen, slapping away Unnamed’s hand as he tried to reach for his shoulder. “Yusaku. We’re leaving.”

“Big bro wait!” Roboppi spoke up. “It’s not like that! Master isn’t a hostage!”

Playmaker looked at Ai, seeing the pain and anger on his face clear as day. “Three things.” That caught Ai’s attention. “One, I am not a hostage, Ai. I’m here of my own free will. My body is also safe, Emma’s with us.”

“Two, I cannot just leave. Once I log out, I have to go through a health check. I’m not at my apartment.”

He saw Ai grimace and Playmaker couldn’t help but feel the same. His apartment was hardly fit for when it was just him and Roboppi. There was no way he could stay there with a baby. He would figure something out, if Ai wouldn’t listen to what else needed to be said.

“Three… you need to come home Ai.” Playmaker finished. “Roboppi told us why you’re doing this. You’re grieving over seeing the others gone. But they aren’t gone.” He shook his head.

“We have _all_ their data, Ai. Even Earth and Lightning’s. Blue Angel was able to get Earth’s, Revolver was wrong, he wasn’t torn apart completely. I have enough that we can stabilize him and Aqua can make sure we do it correctly.”

Ai’s eyes widened. “Wha- but how? All the simu-“

“They’re wrong!” Roboppi interrupted. “Big bro they’re totally _wrong_ cause Doctor Kogami is stupid!”

Playmaker ignored the growl of disapproval as Revolver came back inside. The clones must have disappeared, he realized. “Ai, you don’t have to do this. You _can’t_ do this.”

“Yusaku you don’t understand.” Ai shook his head. “I-I have to. Or else you-“

The sudden connection of their shared Link Sense stopped Ai as he looked at Playmaker in confusion, mouth still open in mid-speech. Playmaker hadn’t tried much with Link Sense other than having it connect him and Ai, but he tried pulling on the connection, visualizing it reaching down farther along his avatar.

“Y-Yusaku?” He wanted to smack the blush right off of Ai’s face, the pervert…

But eventually, he felt something _more_ to their connection. A third one, weak, fragile, but _there_ , and Ai stared at Playmaker.

“You have to stop, Ai.” Playmaker murmured, walking forward slowly towards him. “I know you can feel that too.”

Ai’s gaze drifted down to Playmaker’s stomach. “I… is that…”

“Never thought anything could actually leave you speechless.” A ghost of a smile passed over Playmaker’s face. “Yes. We have the test to prove it. Vaira did the test and… I took a drugstore one.”

“I… I bet that was pretty funny to explain to Takeru and Kolter.” Ai’s voice sounded strained as he walked over to Playmaker, gently touching his cheek.

“You say that like Playmaker was the only one to take one.” Soulburner was standing up again, head tilted as he listened to Emma saying something. “Can we not explode anything else? Emma said it jumped our heartrates up and I don’t think the ‘bundles of joy’ liked it either.”

Ai’s head snapped up as he looked over at Soulburner. “…Bundles?” He blurted out.

“Yes Ai. Bundles.” Playmaker nodded. “We’re both pregnant.”

“Yeah. That was one hell of coming out party by the way.” Soulburner rolled his eyes. “Thanks for that Ai, wouldn’t have had to if you had kept your tentacles to yourself and not given Yusaku a reason to puke his guts out in front of everyone.” He joked lightly.

Ai looked from Soulburner to Playmaker, eyes going down to Playmaker’s stomach again. He hesitated slightly before putting one of his hands there. “And… and it’s…”

“If I have to say you’re the father one more time I’m going to knock whoever asks off a cliff.” Playmaker said bluntly.

“But you said… that _doctor_ did the test? You’re still there.” Ai asked, turning to look at Unnamed and Revolver. “You’re letting those _people_ around Yusaku with our child?”

Playmaker paused as Unnamed and Revolver shared a look.

“Ai, he’s perfectly safe. Emma-“

_“Kolter! You guys have to log out now! Something-“_

**_Emergency logout initiated._ **

Roboppi gasped. “Master!”

The last thing Playmaker saw before the logout sent him out of Vrains was the dark look Ai was giving Revolver as he shouted. “Dark Templar! Take care of them!”

* * *

Logging out of Vrains usually led to an immediate wake up once his consciousness was taken out of the network. But Yusaku knew it was different with the emergency logout. He wasn’t with Emma. He was laying down on… something soft. Yusaku wasn’t sure what it was.

It was soft though. And that helped him stay calm. Even though his mind was going to dangerous territory.

He wasn’t with Emma.

He was forced to logout of Vrians.

He had been kidnapped _again_.

It took all of his willpower to not panic. Who had kidnapped him? There were only a few options…

One, the scientists. None of them had been there when Ai showed up. But they could have also been kept busy by Ai’s clones. And Emma would have stopped them sooner.

Two, someone from SOLtech. But that made even less sense. Zaizen wouldn’t have allowed it, Yusaku was certain of that.

Which only left…

Yusaku slowly opened his eyes, half expecting to see his apartment. Instead of the disgusting walls that Yusaku tried to pretend weren’t white- where the paint on them still stuck to the brick anyway- the walls were a nice, cool blue color. The pillows had warmer colors of blue for their cases, and even the bedding was a nice blue color.

Too much blue, Yusaku thought as he sat up. Grateful that it wasn’t all white, there was still a severe lack of color in the room. Except for one thing.

The gray snow leopard on the bed next to him. It was a stuffed animal, with green eyes and soft fur, he realized as he reached out to pet it. It was then that Yusaku noticed the note in the collar of the leopard.

_Yusaku-chan!_

_I rescued you from the Hanoi, aren’t you so happy much happier? You aren’t around those cruel people anymore! Though Emma wasn’t too happy, so I was only able to grab you before we had to leave!_

_I’ll get Takeru later too don’t worry about that. I know he’s safe with Kolter and you were too but you’re-_ Yusaku had trouble making out the many scribbled out sentences after that until the words became legible again- _you’re pregnant. With my baby. OUR baby._

_You weren’t safe there. So I brought you here! When I took Queen’s key card, I also liberated this place from SOLtech! You’re in an apartment. Two bedroom, one bath, fully stocked kitchen with NO RAMEN because you don’t need all that sodium! I made lunch for you, it’s in the fridge. And there’s barley water and ginger tea to help with the nausea!_

_Me and Roboppi will be back around 2. Now, you can’t leave the apartment. Not yet anyway. This warehouse is a mess! I don’t want you getting hurt or worse. You’re staying in there until I can get it cleaned up just so it doesn’t cause any nightmares or flashbacks really. But there’s a pretty view of the ocean from the living room!_

_Ai love Yu!_

He was half tempted to toss the note out of the window, as Yusaku walked out to the living room. “That pun is why Spectre doesn’t like you.” Yusaku muttered, looking at the note again.

Ai had kidnapped him. Really, that didn’t surprise Yusaku. He shook his head, leaving the note on the coffee table in front of the couch. At least the entire apartment seemed fully furnished. And as he headed to the kitchen, he found a very rough drawing of what he believed to be the floor plan of the entire warehouse.

The handwriting on it was rougher than the drawing, and Yusaku realized it had to have been Roboppi’s handwriting. He hummed softly, taking the drawing off the fridge.

They were in a SOLtiS body, why was their handwriting so poor? Everything he knew about the androids pointed to them all being programmed with handwriting that was easy for anyone to read. They could print in a larger font if accompanying anyone with poorer eyesight even. But the drawing on the bottom right corner of the paper told Yusaku that it was indeed Roboppi who drew the diagram and wrote everything…

He tilted his head. Even before Ai began doing updates and upgrades to Roboppi’s AI, Yusaku suspected there was more to the little maid-bot. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, it was probably from his Link Sense. Yusaku never had the best control of it, not until he actively began practicing with it and figuring out what it could be. There was a high possibility he had begun advancing Roboppi’s AI before Ai even came into the picture.

Which added in an unpredictable human factor to their instability. Yusaku hoped the patch he came up with was able to stabilize Roboppi.

He grabbed the plate he found in the fridge that had another note on it.

_Eat as much of this as you can, I picked your favorites. But what I was able to look up while you were asleep said you might avoid certain smells and tastes and textures! If something’s bad for you right now, leave it on the plate and I’ll make sure to not give it to you next time!_

Yusaku hadn’t expected Ai to be that considerate. Or the fact that he remembered what Yusaku liked to snack on most. Not that there was much Yusaku ever ate as a snack besides hot dogs.

But the plate was filled with different fruits and vegetables, even a few cubes of cheese, and crackers wrapped in individual packets. Nothing was touching, which really surprised Yusaku. Then again, if there was something on the plate his stomach decided wasn’t good, at least nothing else would hopefully taste the same.

He sat back down on the couch with the plate and looked down at his stomach before pausing.

…Ai had changed his clothes.

Yusaku sighed with a frown. Gone was his school uniform ( _totally not the only thing he had to wear while his only other outfit was sitting in a laundry basket at Kolter’s place_ ) and in its place was a soft pastel pink and purple shirt with purple sweatpants.

_There_ was the familiar color scheme that Yusaku came to associate Ai with. He was half expecting to find-

_Yep._ Over the back of the chair near the couch, a matching pastel colored hoodie. And Yusaku was certain there were cat ears on the hood.

…He wasn’t going to wear it. The apartment was a bit chilly, and Yusaku had no clue what other clothes, if any, there were in the apartment. But he was _not_ going to wear it.

…

Roboppi and Ai returned a few hours later to see Yusaku napping on the couch, snow leopard hugged tight to his chest, and hood up to hide his hair. The cat ears flopped over against the arm of the couch as Yusaku slept.

* * *

Waking up the second time was easier for Yusaku, though it helped that his pillow felt different, and was _humming_. He opened his eyes, half expecting to see the gothic vampire look Ai had decided was fashionable, and found yet another surprise.

Ai _was_ his pillow, but dressed down in a hoodie and sweatpants as well. Both were dark purple, and his hair was back in a ponytail. He had one of his hands carding through Yusaku’s hair, the other busy flipping pages on a tablet.

“Kolter’s furious, of course. The hot dog dad isn’t too happy I stole one of his pups.” Ai smirked in amusement, looking at the chair nearby. Yusaku’s gaze followed his.

Roboppi was there with a different tablet, wearing a t-shirt and shorts as their legs kicked happily. “You could’ve told him! I bet he would’ve came with us, Ghost Gal too. Then Takeru and Jin would be here!”

“Maybe. Focus on your schoolwork for now, Roboppi.” Ai’s smirk softened into a fond smile as he looked down at his lap. “I noticed you didn’t eat the peppers on the plate, Yusaku.”

“I don’t like peppers.” Yusaku murmured, sitting up and rubbing his eyes, keeping the snow leopard on his lap. “Ai… you kidnapped me.” He frowned.

“Ah, that I did.” Ai nodded. “You were with the _Hanoi_ though, Yusaku. It wasn’t safe for you.” He explained, setting the tablet down.

“That doesn’t excuse _kidnapping_ , Ai.” Yusaku pointed out. “And what are you even doing here? …Wait, did you say ‘schoolwork’?” He looked over at Roboppi.

Ai sighed. “You noticed it already. I recognize your coding work when I see it. Yes, schoolwork. Roboppi was advancing too quickly. Their base AI could not handle it. I’ve been trying to slow them down by taking a more human approach. Limiting their connection to the network and myself and making them learn at a pace slightly faster than a human’s. Right now, they’re doing work a third grader would have.”

That explained the handwriting then. Ai had limited Roboppi, and Yusaku was relieved to hear that.

Had Roboppi continued to advance as quick as they were, Yusaku had no doubt the programs would have corrupted and erased themselves. And thinking about that sent a shot of panic through Yusaku. It would mean Roboppi would have been gone. But they seemed to be doing alright, sitting on the chair and working on the tablet.

“How are you feeling though, Yusaku? Any sickness?” Ai asked, looking concerned.

“Mmm, no.” Yusaku shook his head lightly. “I’m usually only sick in the morning, and I’m fine by about one in the afternoon.”

Ai nodded, trying to coax Yusaku to lay back down. Yusaku sighed and followed, laying his head on Ai’s lap as Ai’s hand combed through his hair. “Seems our little one wants something specific then. You’re so undernourished still. But that’s what _Ai_ am here for, after all!” He cooed, moving to rub Yusaku’s stomach affectionately.

“I’ve made sure to stock everything here though! Healthy foods, a bit of junk food, no ramen though. Or hot dogs, since I know you only eat them if Kolter makes them.” Ai grinned. “As well as prenatal vitamins!”

Yusaku looked unimpressed as Ai held a gummy vitamin to his lips. “Oh come on Yusaku. You need them! …Unless…”

“Shut up you idiot.” Yusaku sighed, batting Ai’s hand away. “ _No_ I’m not getting rid of the baby. I can handle this myself though.” Just to prove his point, he grabbed the bottle of vitamins- _when had Ai moved those there?_ \- and took two out, chewing them slowly.

“I even remembered that you can’t take hard vitamins.” Ai smirked lazily, watching Yusaku. “I know they make you faint.”

At least he had remembered that, even if he didn’t remember that Yusaku wasn’t fond of _being kidnapped_. He didn’t have to worry about fainting at least.

“Am I going to be allowed to call Kolter?” He raised an eyebrow, looking at Ai again. “You have the key cards, so stop being an idiot now. What did you even need those for?”

Ai hummed, leaning back against the couch. “You know what SOL did to Earth, yeah?” He started. “I was planning on stopping them from making SOLtiS bodies really. They were using Earth’s base coding for them.”

“But while I was doing that, I noticed a lot of data was going missing from their databases. And I kept finding these.” The smirk was back as a pure white feather materialized in his hand. “Sending in Blue Maiden, knowing that Akira Zaizen would cover her tracks. How sly of you.”

“It was Akira who got us most of that data.” Yusaku admitted. “After Lightning was stopped, he did a lot of thinking about where he wanted to stand in all of this. And he figured out who Kolter was to Playmaker, which led him to me. He didn’t approach me until you decided to go after him though.”

“But he did get most of Earth’s data back and gave it to Skye. You taking out Queen made that even easier. We were collecting everyone else’s data as well.” He added.

Ai looked at Yusaku, putting a hand on his Origin’s stomach again. “How were you able to find them?” He murmured.

“Flame, Lightning, and Aqua were easy. It seems they all had the same idea and left a bit of code with their Origins, and in Aqua’s case, with Skye. And not just leaving a baby with Takeru I mean.” Yusaku explained. “There were strands of Ignis Algorithms in Takeru and Skye’s duel disks. Lightning left strands of code in Jin’s mind, from when he took his memories of the abuse he did to Jin in the Incident.”

“So we checked with Miyu, and Spectre too, Aqua’s code was there with Miyu. And taking new data from Spectre let us complete Earth again. It’s just taking time to reconfigure everyone safely. We don’t want Lightning to go insane again.”

“What about Windy though?” Ai interrupted. “Where is he?”

Yusaku tilted his head slightly. “Windy’s an odd case in all of this. When we found Flame’s data, we found Windy’s. But it’s heavily fragmented. Some of it was with Lightning’s data as well.” He told Ai. “He’ll probably be the last to wake up. But Ryoken offered to be a new… test subject, in a way. To help stabilize Windy since his Origin isn’t here anymore.”

Ai paused. “…do you mean…”

Yusaku shook his head. “No, not like the Incident. We want Windy stable not insane. Ryoken just does three things daily. One, he makes sure to duel against one of the Knights or Spectre, to let Windy take the data from that. Two, he keeps his duel disk on at all times, so Windy can monitor everyday patterns. Three, he makes sure to exercise in different ways. Working out, reading, doing puzzles, things like that.”

“So he works out both physically and mentally, and the new coding you have for Windy grows off of the stimuli of that.” Ai nodded slowly. “So Windy won’t really be Windy in the end then?”

“No, he will be.” Yusaku said. “All this is doing is some… behavioral corrections. But it’s based on learning instead of a punishment and reward system like the Incident ran off on. Windy’s personality will hardly be affected, especially now that Lightning’s code is far away from him. It’s like…” He hummed, trying to think of a way to explain it.

“Like Roboppi, in a way.” He decided. “Using just your code was advancing Roboppi too quickly, leading to instability. But introducing new code from me will help them balance out at a rate we can keep up with should Roboppi need anything else from us.”

“I see.” Ai nodded again. “So you’re not replacing Windy, but adding on to him.”

“Exactly. Windy is still Windy, we’re just giving him the right opportunities to stabilize himself after Lightning messed up his coding and drove him to insanity. The code he developed from his Origin is still there, but there are holes from Lightning’s code. Ryoken is filling those holes to ensure Windy isn’t a threat, to put it bluntly. Similar to how he’s created Pandor.”

“And how did he react to your current state?” Ai smirked.

Yusaku looked at him. “Can I call Kolter?” He responded.

“You’re not going to stop until I let you call Kolter, are you?” Ai sighed, shaking his head. “I don’t think-“

“Roboppi, call Kolter.”

“Yes Saku!” Roboppi chirped, taking out a phone- _where had they gotten that?_ \- and calling up Kolter quickly.

Ai stared at Roboppi, mouth agape. “Oh sure. I ask you to finish your homework before eight and you throw a fit. Yusaku asks you to call Kolter and you do it without complaining! Unbelievable. Our oldest kid favors the bearer.”

“At least you didn’t call me their mom.” Yusaku said dryly, looking over when Roboppi put the phone on speaker as the call connected.

“Ai. If that’s you. You have two minutes to return my son, or so help me I will scramble your 0s and 1s so badly not even Lightning will be able to put your ass back together.”

The dark voice that came from the phone made Ai jump with a squeak, Yusaku grimacing when the movement made him move as well. “Kolter, I’m alright.”

“Yusaku! Where are you? We’re coming to get you.”

“Wait wait wait!” Ai protested. “Ai can take care of Yusaku just fine!”

“Really? Is that why you kidnapped him and _left all of his medication at his apartment_?” Kolter asked dryly.

Ai paused as Yusaku looked at him. “W-well… he’s pregnant! Some medications cannot be taken while pregnant so there!” He huffed, crossing his arms.

“That would hold up, if Clarissa hadn’t said he can still take three of his medications. Something _you_ could easily check online.”

Yusaku shrugged as Ai pouted down at him, sighing when Ai’s hand once again found its way to resting on his stomach. “Ai. Just tell dad where we’re at.” He said.

Ai sighed. “I’m… not getting out of doing that, am I?” He muttered. “Fine fine. _But_! Takeru must come with you. And they all stay here! It’s safe here. And I want all the data you all have!”

“I want my son back and you’re in no position to be demanding things. You’re grounded, Ai.”

“You’re not my father! You can’t ground me!” Ai shrieked, making Yusaku wince again.

“Your creator was my father, making me your older brother. Ai, you’re grounded.” Came another voice from the phone.

“ _Oh hell no_! We are not related Revolver! Nope! No way! I refuse!”

Yusaku sighed, for once grateful when his stomach decided food was the most disgusting thing in the world. It gave him an excuse to shove Ai off of him and hide in the bathroom.

He refused to think what his mind really wanted to think, unfortunately… Roboppi did not have the same reservations.

“All of us living together, what could go wrong big bro?”


	5. Chapter 5

At least he had time to prepare before the proposed ‘everyone living together’ idea.

Yusaku could think of far more than three reasons as to why that was a _horrible_ idea. The first one…

“I’m going to have to put in more bathrooms, aren’t I?” Ai asked sheepishly as Yusaku glared up at him from the bathroom floor.

Unlike Roboppi, who was happily making tea in the kitchen to help, Yusaku found Ai hovering over him like some lost corporeal ghost. Part of him, a childish part that Yusaku really didn’t want to listen to because he was going to be a _parent_ in a few months, wanted to retaliate to that question by losing the rest of his lunch on Ai’s shoes.

Luckily, the rational and sane part of him was far larger, and he settled with sitting back against the cool wall of the bathroom, closing his eyes and taking a few slow, deep breaths. “Did you tell them where we’re at?” He asked.

“I did.” Ai nodded. “Ai’m… in trouble aren’t I?”

“What could have ever given you that idea?” Yusaku asked, accepting the glass of water Ai held out to him.

“Would you listen to me if I explained my actions?” Ai asked, sitting down next to Yusaku on the floor.

“What’s your reasoning for… everything.” Yusaku looked at him.

“Humans suck.”

Yusaku scoffed, rolling his eyes. Of course Ai wouldn’t take it seriously. As if he expected anything else. He finished the glass of water, setting it on the counter but making no move to get up. “Try again.”

Ai sighed. “Two world wars. Countless more lost to history. Ancient Egypt, Atlantis, Poseidon, the Dark Dimension, the Dimensional War. And SOLtech doomed to repeat it. What do most of those have in common, Yusaku?”

Yusaku frowned, looking at Ai again. His eyes narrowed as he thought about what he heard in school. The two world wars he knew were the outliers. “Monsters?”

“Spirits, actually.” Ai corrected him. “Duel Spirits, from their own world. Egypt thought they had a monopoly on them. They were wrong, by a few thousand years. They sealed the portals that the spirits were appearing from, but those portals always find ways of reopening.”

“And the humans that open them, never do it for good reasons.” He continued. “Ancient Egypt woke a god, Atlantis had a Leviathan, Poseidon was part of a larger attack that also included aliens-“

“This sounds like fantasy, I don’t remember hearing about this…” Yusaku murmured.

“Of course not. SOLtech controls Den City, and those in control decide how history is taught. Even in other places, history is trying to be covered up again. Too bad for them, some of that history is _recent_.” Ai said. “Did you know Ryoken’s mother’s last name was Arclight? And he recently had his last name legally changed to that too.”

“He has other family?” Yusaku asked. Ryoken never mentioned anyone else in his family being alive. But that last name sounded familiar.

Ai nodded. “He does. He has three cousins, more through marriage. The oldest is 25… their father is physically 11.”

“ _What_? Ai if this is some twisted joke-“

“It’s not.” Ai smirked. “It’s magic.”

“Bullshit.” Yusaku said bluntly. There was no way Ryoken had an uncle, who was eleven, who had a _twenty-five-year-old son_. And there was no way it was magic. “That’s imposs-“

“The impossible is just the possible that’s yet to be done, Playmaker.” Yusaku winced. Of course Ai would use that against him. “All of it is magic. Just as the fact that you’re carrying my child is magic. Link Sense? Magic. It’s not just technology.”

Yusaku thought about what Ai was saying. “Okay, we’ll come back to that- including Ryoken’s family, but what does that have to do with your actions?”

“Simple. Queen and the rest of SOLtech were going to use Earth’s magic to create an army of SOLtis.” Ai revealed. “Even with you sending Blue Angel in to retrieve his data, SOLtech still has more than enough.”

Yusaku thought over what Ai was saying. “That doesn’t justify your petty ‘humans suck’ comment.”

“No.” Ai agreed easily with a hum. “But with SOLtiS bodies, who needs humans? And what’s one thing Queen always prided herself on? Her young looks.” He pointed out. “One, Queen and the rest of SOLtech are using Earth’s magic to create a SOLtiS army. Means they gotta pay less to people because what would AI need human money for? Two, Queen had a habit of keeping herself looking young and making sure her body didn’t fail to age. Granted she’s only in her late thirties but I’m sure all humans have a wrinkle or two by then. Three, having _any_ Ignis coding means she and the rest of her slimy head honchos could find out… about this.”

He put his hand on Yusaku’s stomach again. “She could know it’s possible. An Ignis and human child. Kogami didn’t start the Hanoi Project on his own, Yusaku.”

Yusaku froze, staring at Ai. “You… You don’t mean…”

“Our child is an unknown to everyone.” Ai murmured. “I’m protecting you and them with my life, don’t doubt that for a second. But if anyone else at SOLtech found out about this? It’s risky enough that Zaizen knows.”

“I saw into Queen’s mind while I was dueling her. She didn’t even try to protect herself like you do. If they knew this was possible? I wouldn’t put it past her to… thin the human herd, so to speak. And to hand select… incubators for a new project.”

It was like being dunked in ice water as the realization set in fully.

If SOLtech knew… if the _world_ knew… They wouldn’t be safe. If anyone found out about the Ignis alone, Yusaku knew war would break out. Companies, Governments, none would stop until they all had their hands on the Ignis. SOLtech had sent out bounty hunters, after all. And were vicious in their attacks, they had dissected Earth without a care.

If anyone found out about how the Ignis were created? Or that the Ignis could create _new life_?

Yusaku shoved Ai’s hand away, but didn’t protest Ai helping him sit back up to lose what was left of his lunch at the thought of what would happen.

“Humans with power do whatever it takes to keep that power.” Ai murmured, rubbing Yusaku’s back. “And they tend to not like what they don’t understand. It’s why the Den City High School curriculum doesn’t cover shadow magic and the importance of duels in history. After all, if people knew where the true power was, who would need SOLtech? Kaiba Corp is more advanced _still_ , Heartland has a bridge to another world, New Domino has an arc reactor running on Ener-D that powers not only the entire city, but the surrounding areas, and will never break down. Paradise accidentally ripped the world into four dimensions for a time and managed to sew them all back together without anything bad other than two people splitting into eight people.”

“Den City? SOLtech? They have Vrains and SOLtiS bodies. _Obsolete_ androids. The man running the arc reactor created a better one a few years ago to get one of his lovers back. No diamond on the neck, no limitations, powered by the same mini reactor that’s put into duel runners.”

Yusaku looked at Ai, specifically, his neck. He knew something had been odd. “He made more than one.”

“He did.” Ai nodded. “Because he agreed with what I said. I wasn’t idle this week, Yusaku. I was gathering allies, I guess would be the best way to put it. Gathering data as well. I knew Queen was going to make the army, start in Den City and work outwards. But, our child was unknown to me. I didn’t… even Lightning didn’t know it was possible.”

“Which is good. Given how much Kogami messed him up. If he knew… he may have attempted to use Jin as a test subject.”

“There’s no _may_ about it.” Yusaku murmured, remembering what Doctor Turner had said. “When we had confirmation about this, Jin was tested too. There was Ignis coding mixed in with his DNA.”

Ai blinked, looking at Yusaku in shock. “I didn’t… there’s no way Lightning could have known unless…”

“Let’s not assume the worst yet.” Yusaku replied. “Jin isn’t, by the way. Pregnant I mean.”

“But he can get pregnant.” Ai hummed. “Windy’s Origin and Spectre are the only two who couldn’t. That isn’t to say it wouldn’t be _impossible_ but if I had to guess, Earth would be the one carrying? I don’t know, I would have to check- wait a second.” He paused.

“Yusaku… _how_ can Takeru be pregnant with Flame if Flame is _gone_?” He looked at him. “Are you sure-“

Yusaku held up his hand to stop Ai. “Right after you left. That meeting you decided was going to be your big debut? But it went wrong and so you wiped our memories?” He pointed out as Ai looked sheepish. “Yes, I remember _most_ of it. Including _how I felt afterwards_. Though I also know that I was consenting, so you aren’t in trouble for that. But since we’re explaining very detailed things now…”

“It’s possible that we were the catalyst needed to start the entire process for Takeru as well. It’s no secret he and Flame were intimate before Flame’s death. And whatever is used from an Ignis to create life like this must have stayed dormant.”

“Until we were intimate and… _oh_.” Ai whispered. “During that, we were connected through Link Sense as well. That must have sent out a signal to…”

Yusaku nodded in agreement. “That, or Takeru is two months farther than I am. Both are a possibility, we didn’t exactly ask how far we are.” He hummed. “I do find it a bit concerning that you decided to go through with having sex with me _without_ realizing what you were putting in me though.”

“I assumed it was like what humans have, just without the genetic code for baby making.” Ai admitted. “So… more like a lubricant. Plus, it’s a SOLtiS body. Know how many modifications I had to do!? Tentacles are so not supposed to fit where I fit them in at!”

Yusaku sighed. Only he and Ai could go from talking about SOLtech wanting to end the world in yet another war one moment, to arguing about sex the next. It was a lot Yusaku had to think over, and he was rather tired.

“Okay.”

“Okay?” Ai echoed, tilting his head.

“Okay, you can keep us here for now.” He had to admit, it sounded safer for him, Takeru, and the growing embryos- fetuses? Yusaku didn’t know. The babies. Not to mention it would ease Kolter’s worries and they could keep an eye on Jin in case he did start showing symptoms. “But, three things.”

“Of course.” Ai muttered.

“One, _you_ have to explain what you just said about all the wars and SOLtech to Kolter, Emma, and Ryoken. They’ll be able to help you decide what part of that information is important considering SOLtech is currently under Akria Zaizen’s control.” Yusaku began.

“Two, you can assist in getting the other Ignis back _but_ do not try to control the situation Ai. You could easily overwhelm them.” He nodded towards the door, where Roboppi stood with the tea. “That’s what happened with Roboppi. You did too much too quickly and didn’t know what you were doing.”

Ai flinched back. “…Right, that’s fair.” He sighed. “And three?”

“I’ll help take out whoever’s left in SOLtech that’s a threat.” Yusaku sat up straighter. “I don’t need to duel to do that. And if you manage to explain things clearly to mom and dad, they’ll help too. Zaizen might as well.”

Ai hummed softly. “I’m going to protest that third thing. You know that.”

“I know.” Yusaku smiled softly. “But you won’t be doing this alone, Ai. We’re partners. It isn’t just your fight now.”

Ai couldn’t help but smile back. “Alright then! Let’s get you out of the bathroom then, and I’ll use the combined key to get some of the SOLtiS stored here to work on adding on to this apartment!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Info dump chapter! Basically just setting up some things and getting Yusaku's stance on some things as well. There's actually a plot to this story beyond just an AiYusa baby.

**Author's Note:**

> IDGAF if this is crack-ish. I'm having fun and that's what matters. I am legitimately surprised there really no fic like this yet btw.


End file.
